Apparatus for waterproofing filled and sealed packages.



W. H. DOBLE.

APPARATUS FOR WATERPROOFING FILLED AND SEALED PACKAGES. APPLICATION men0:0.21. 1915.

1,199,532. Patented Sept. 26,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. H. DOBLE.

APPARATUS FOR WATERPROOFING FILLED AND SEALED PACKAGES.

APPLICATlON FlLED DEC. 21. 195.

Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IVY/716711507". 7M MM W. H. DOBLE.

APPARATUS FOR WATERPROOFING FILLED AND SEALED PACKAGES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.2I, I915.

Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. DOBLE, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO PNEUMATIC SCALECORPORATION, LIMITED, 0]? QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

Application filed December 21, 1915. Serial No. 67,988.

T all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. DOBLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Quincy, county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus forWaterproofing Filled and Sealed Packages, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

It is very important for a variety of reasons both sanitary andpreservative that food products put up in packages for the maret shallbe hermetically sealed and waterproofed. Sometimes this has beenattempted by making the carton or package out of material which has beenpreviously waterproofed, sometimes by waterproofing the carton after ithas been formed but before it is filled and then sealing the cartonafter it is filled, and mmetimes the filled package which is itselfunwaterproofecl is wrapped in a waterproofed wrapper. None of thesemethods makes a waterproof joint.

The object of the present invention is to take a filled package which ismade of ordinary unwaterproofed material, such, for instance, as paperof which cartons are ordinarily made, seal the filled package in anysuitable way, and then to waterproof the filled and sealed package bythe exterior iurface application of waterproofing prepaation thereto.

In the preferred method of carrying out the invention, the waterproofingmaterial consists of paraffin or Wax, and the filled and sealed packageis immersed in the paraflin while the latter is in a hot liquid state soas to thoroughly cover all parts of the package with a coating of themelted wax, then the package is carried-directly into a hot chamber inwhich it remains long enough for the surplus parafiin to drip off of thepackage before the paraflin solidifies, and then the package is removedand the film of parafiin which remains upon the package is allowed toharden. This leaves the package in a Waterproof and hermetically sealedcondition ready for market. It may or may not be inclosed in a wrapperas desired for shipping purposes.

Although the preferred waterproofing material is parafiin, any suitablewaterproofing substance may be employed which can be applied in li uidform and which solidifies when expose to the atmosphere.

The drawings illustrate one form of apparatus embodying means forcarrying out the invention in which the entire process is performedmechanically. It is to be understood however, that the invention is abroad one, and it is not intended to be limited to the particularapparatus shown.

The invention will be fully understood when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings and the novel features thereof will be pointed outand clearly defined in the claims at the close of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, partlybroken away, embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation looking inthe direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinalsection of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section on line 44of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the gearing for producing theintermittent movement.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 represents a tank which contains thewaterproofing material the level of which is represented in the drawingsby the dotted line 2. The said tank is shown as mounted upon a platform3 supported on the upper end of a standard 4 which is vertically movablefor the purpose of raising and lowering the tank. The said standard 4has the lower portion formed as a rack bar with teeth 5 which engagewith the teeth of a pinion 6 mounted on a shaft 7 so that by rotatingsaid shaft 7 the said rack bar and standard 4 may be moved up and downto raise and lower the tank 1. The shaft 7 may be rotated by means of ahand wheel 8 mounted on the shaft and will be retained in its adjustedposition by means of a pawl 9 which engages with ratchet teeth on awheel 10, said pawl 9 being pivoted to a stationary part of the frame. Arotary spider 11 is mounted on a shaft 12, said shaft being journaled inbearings 13-14 carried by or formed as a part of I beams 15-16 whichform a part of the frame. Said spider 11 is in the form of a circulardisk having a plurality of U- shaped notches 17 in its periphery, saidnotches being disposed at regular intervals apart from each other. Asshown in the drawings said notches are four in number. Attached to thedisk, in each one of these U- shaped recesses, is a package holder 18which is ueshaped in cross section, being open at the top and on eachend. These holders are shown as secured to the disk by means of screws19 which pass through ears 20 and through the disk or spider. Thepackage holders or carriers 18 are of just the right width to hold oneof the packages 21 and preferably should be of a little less depth thanthe length of the package so that when the package is in the holder itwill project slightly from the left hand or outer end of the holder asviewed in Fig. 3 for the purpose to be hereinafter described. The shaft12 on which the spider is mounted stands at an inclination as plainlyshown in Fig. 3 so that the spider revolves in an inclined plane and theholders 18 which extend at right angles to the plane of the spider arealso always at an inclination.

The tank 1 is so located with relation to the. spider that during therotation of the spider each holder 18 will be caused to sweep downthrough the liquid in the tank. Means are provided by which the spideris given an intermittent movement, rotating at each period of movementthrough an arc equal to the distance between two of the holders 18. Inthe form of construction shown in the drawings in which there are fourholders at equal distances apart each holder will rotate through an arcof 90 at each period of movement. The arrangement and construction aresuch that the period'of dwell of the disk will occur at the time whenthe lowermost holder 18 is immersed in the liquid in the tank as shownin dotted lines in Fig. 3. This dwell gives opportunity for the packageto become thoroughly covered with the melted paraffin. The dwell alsogives opportunity for introducing another package into the holder whichfollows next behind the one which is already immersed, and for thedischarge of the package at the discharge station.

Means are provided whereby the packages may be automatically fed intothe holders, one package to each holder in turn as it reaches thestation the last before it moves into the bath in the tank. The meansprovided are as follows A table 22 having a flange 23 is adjustablysecuredto the frame 24, as, for instance, by bolts 26 passing throughelongated slots 27 in the flange 23 and into the frame. The table shouldbe so adjusted that the top will be in the same plane as the uppersurface of the bottom of the holder 18. Two guides 28-28 are secured tothe top of the table parallel with each other and spaced apart equal tothe width of the package so that there is just room for the package toslide between the guides. The table and guides are so located that thepassage between the guides is in alinement with the entrance to theholder 18 at the time when the holder 18 is at the station of rest lastbefore it movesto enter the tank. The attendant will keep the table 22supplied with packages so that there is always a package ready to enterthe holder 18 at the proper time. As the holder 18 is open at theentrance end, and the table 22 is at an inclination, the package willslide down into the holder by gravity at the proper time aided by thepressure of the packages behind it. The advance package on the table isheld back during the rotation of the spider by reason of the end packageengaging with the Hat face of the spider, and it is ready to enter theholder as soon as the open space at the end of the holder comes intoalinement with the way between the guides 28 on the table.

The reason for having the holder of slightly less depth than the lengthof the package is so that the package will protrude slightly from theholder and thereby hold back the next following package enough toprevent said next following package from sliding down far enough tocatch on the edge of the holder when the spider starts to move again. Assoon as the spider moves far enough to cause the contained package tomove clear of the next following package in the run way, said followingpackage will slide down into contact with the flat side of the spiderready to slide into the next holder in turn.

It is desirable to have the holder 18 open also at the end opposite theentrance end in,order to enable the package to be discharged at theproper time as will be hereinafter described.

On account of the inclined seat for the package in the holder it isnecessary to provide means for preventing the package from sliding outof the exit end until the spider in its rotation brings the holderaround to the proper station for discharging the package. For thispurpose a stop bar 29 bent into hoop shape is provided, one end of whichis secured at 30 to a flange 31 forming a part of the frame of themachine, said point of attachment being at a slightly higher elevationthan that side of the holder 18 which is on the upper side when theholder is at the station where the package is received, as shown in Fig.2. Said hoop is concentric with the spider but of less diameter andextends down along side of the exit end of the holder 18 at the packagereceiving station just in the rear of the exit end. It continues alongjust in the rear of the path described by the exit end of the holderuntil it reaches a point just below the station where the package is tobe discharged. That end of the hoop is secured 0 to the delivery shelf32. The hoop thus serves as a stop to prevent the package from slidingout of the end of the holder both at the receiving station and duringall of the travel until the package arrives at the discharging station.

The holder 18 is left open at the two ends not only for the purpose ofconveniently receiving and discharging the package but also to readilypermit contact of the melted paraffin with the package when it isimmersed in the bath. For this purpose the top of the holder is alsoleft open but as the holder is in an inverted position when it is in thebath and is also in a somewhat inverted osition during a large part ofthe travel fi om the receiving station to the discharging station it isnecessary to provide means to prevent the package from falling out ofthe holder. The means provided for this purpose are as follows: Aplurality of narrow hoop shaped bars 33 are provided, being shown in thedrawings as three in number, each concentric with the path of travel ofthe holder, and they lie just outside of the periphery of the spider,one end of each of said hoops 33 being secured to a bar 34 connectedwith the frame, the other ends of said hoops being secured at 35 to thebar 36 at a slightly higher elevation than the upper side of the holderwhen it is at the discharge station so that the package will be guardedagainst falling out of the open face of the holder, that is, on theradially outward side, at any time after the package has been receivedin the holder. In order to properly space apart said hoops from eachother mid-way of their ends, a bolt 37 passes through a bracket hanger38 and through apertures in the said hoops. Tubular washers 39 aremounted on said bolt between the hoops and between the hanger 38 and theadjacent hoop so that said tubular Washers will serve as spacers. Saidbolt 37 has a head on the end adjacent the bracket 38 and a nut on theother end to keep it from endwise movement.

The spider 11 is given an intermittent movement already mentioned,moving at each period through an are equal to the dis tance between anytwo of the holders, which in the case of the apparatus shown, is 90. Themeans for producing this intermittent movement isas follows: Mounted ona shaft 12 is a mutilated or intermittent gear 40 formed with fourinterruptions or open spaces 41 at an equal distance apart from eachother in which there are no teeth. A pinion 42 mounted on shaft 43engages with said gear 40 and is provided with a single interruptedspace 44. The said pinion 42 is of smaller diameter than the gear 4-0and is so proportioned thereto that the number of teeth on the pinion 42is equal to the number of teeth between two of the interruptions on thegear 40, and so arranged that at each rotation of the pinion 42 theinterrupted space in the periphery of the pinion 42 will come againstone of the interruptions 41 in the periphery of the gear 40. It is thusshown in Fig. 2. The pinion 42 is rotating constantly, and at eachrotation of said pinion, as long as the teeth of the pinion are engagedwith the teeth of the gear 40, said gear 40 will be rotated, thus givingit a quarter turn until the open space 44 in the pinion reaches one ofthe open spaces 41 in the gear, then' the gear 40 will stop rotatinguntil the open space in the pinion shall have rotated past the openspace in the gear, and as soon as the teeth of the pinion again engagewith the teeth of the gear the gear 40 will be moved again and continuethrough a one-fourth turn as before. There will thus be a dwell of thespider 11 after each one-fourth turn of the spider for an interval oftime sufficient for the teeth of the pinion to again engage with theteeth of the gear. This interval of time will besui'licient for thedischarge of the waterproofing package at one end, and for the receptionof a new package at the receiving end.

The pinion 42 may be continuously rotated by any suitable mechanism,that shown being as follows: A driving pulley 45 is mounted on a shaft46 which is journaled in bearings 47, 47 supported by brackets whichproject from the I beam 16; also mounted on said shaft 46 is a bevelgear 48 which engages with a bevel gear 49 on*t}l)1e shaft 43. Saidshaft 43 is mounted in earings 50 which project from the I beam 16. Itwill thus be seen that by means of the driving pulley 45, which iscontinuously driven, and by the connecting mechanism, the pinion 42 iscontinuously driven and the gear 40 and spider are given theintermittent movement previously described.

It is important that the paraffin in the tank 1 shall be kept hot. Anysuitable heating means may be used, that shown being as follows: A gaspipe 51 extends lengthwise beneath the tank near one side, and connectedtherewith are a plurality of pipes 52 which extend parallel with eachother transversely beneath the tank, said pipes 52 being formed withburner apertures 53 so that the said pipes 52 serve as burners to heatthe bottom of the tank. The pipe 51 is supplied through a pipe 54 whichis connected with a flexible section 55 to allow for the raising andlowering of the paraffin tank by means of the pinion 6, and

rack 5, in the manner already described. It is intended that the tankshall be lowered when the machine is not in operation so that the spiderand holders will be out of the tank, otherwise, when the heat is shutoff and the paraflin cools the p flin il solidify around the submergedholder. In order to prevent undue waste of heat, a hood 56 is provided.

At each period of rest of the spider in its rotation the package whichhas last come from the paraffin bath is discharged from the spider. Thestop hoop 29, as already described, terminates just below the station atwhich the package stops first after leaving the bath so that the exitend of the holder 18 will be open, thereby leaving a free outlet for thepackage. On account of the bottom of the holder on which the package isseated being inclined the package will slide out by gravity at thedischarge station in the same manner that the package slides in at thereceiving station.

The package which has just come from the bath will be so thoroughlydrenched with the liquid paraffin that there will be a surplus and it isimportant that this surplus should be removed before the paraffinhardens. It is preferable. to accomplish this removal by naturaldrainage rather than' by positive treatment, like scraping, as drainageleaves a more uniform skin coat, while scraping is liable to removeit.unevenly. For this purpose the package is transferred from the spiderdirectly to a drainer where the package is allowed to remain in a heatedatmosphere at a sufficiently high temperature to retain the paraffin inits liquid state long enough for all of the surplus liquid to drip fromthe package. In order to enable the drainage to take place without delaythe drainer employed is a carrier of skeleton form which carries thepackage through a hot chamber so that the drainage can take place whilethe package is being carried away and the carrier is of sufficientcapacity so that additional packages may be deposited successively uponthe carrier before the first package is discharged therefrom.

The combination carrier and drainer. as shown, consists of two parallelsprocket chains 57. which run over two pairs of sprocket wheels. 58-59,the pair of sprocket wheels 58 being mounted on a shaft 60 and the pairof sprocket wheels 59 being mounted on a shaft 61. The shaft 60 islocated at a somewhat lower level than the exit end of the holder 18when said holder is at the disch rge station. and an inclined slidewaywhich is secured to the frame just below the exit end of the said holder18 at said discharge station. leads to the carrier chains 57. \Vhen apackage 21 slides out of the holder 18 it falls on the said slideway 32and thence slides onto the carrier chains 57. as shown in Fig. 3. inwhich one of the packages is shown partly on the slideway and partly onthe carrier chain. The carrier chains 57 are spaced apart from eachother somewhat less than the width of the package so that the packagewill be supported by both carrier chains. Underneath the upper run ofeach of the chains 57 is a rail 63 to prevent the chain from saggingunder the weight of the package. The carrier chains 57 pass through ahot chamber which is open at both ends, one end being connected with thehood 56. It is formed as shown with an arched top portion 64, preferablyof metal, and a base portion 65. The base is supported on ribs orflanges 66 which form a part of the frame work. Below the lower run ofthe carrier chain is a drip pan 67 into which the drippings from thepackages on the carrier will fall.

Any suitable means may be employed for heating the interior of thechamber 64, the means shown consistin of two parallel gas pipes 68 whichexten lengthwise beneath the drip pan 67 above the bottom of saidchamber, said pipes 68 having burner apertures 69 therein so as tosupply a series of gas jets within the chamber. Said burner pipes 68 aresupplied through a pipe 70 which may be the same pipe that supplies gasto heat the paraffin tank.

The carrier chains 57 may be driven by any proper connection with theshaft 46 which is driven by the pulley 45, the said driving connectionshown being as follows: Mounted on the shaft 60 which carries the 95sprocket wheels 58 is a sprocket wheel 71. said shaft 60 being mountedin bearings 72 connected with the frame. A sprocket chain 73 runs oversaid sprocket wheel 71 and over a sprocket wheel 74 mounted on shaft 46.The relative size of the sprocket wheels is such as to give the carrierchain 57 whatever speed is desired in relation to the driving shaft 46.The carrier chains may be driven sufliciently slowly to give ample timefor the packages to thoroughly drain while being carried through the hotchamber 6}. At the outer end of the upper run of the carrier chains thepackages will be delivered onto a table 75 whence they may be removed inany suitable way. The package will retain sufficient coating of paraffinafter it has passed through the hot chamber 64 to form a waterproofcoating over the entire surface of the package.

In describing the above apparatus it has been necessary to describe tosome extent the waterproofed package and the process for waterproofingthe same. The waterproofed package and the process are to form thesubjects of separate applications by me.

'hat I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for waterproofing filled packages. a container whichholds a waterproofing substance. and a rotary spider which rotates on anaxis inclined to a horizontal. said spider rotating in a plane at rightangles to said axis and inclined to a vertical plane. said spider beingprovided with a plurality of package holders which 130 project therefromat right angles to the plane of rotation of the spider and are open ateach end, and have an inclined seat for the package.

2. In an apparatus for waterproofing filled ,pack-ages, a containerwhich holds a waterproofing substance, a rotary carrier which rotates onan axis inclined to a horizontal, said carrier rotating in a plane atright angles to said axis and inclined to a vertical plane, said carrierbeing provided with a plurality of package holders which projecttherefrom at right angles to the plane of rotation of the carrier andare open at each end and have an inclined seat for the package, meansfor rotating said carrier intermittently, an inclined slideway to feedthe packages to the holder and which is in alinement with the entranceend of said holder at one of the stations of rest, the waterproofcontainer being so located that the carrier after receiving a packagewill carry it into and out of said container, a discharge station on theopposite side of the carrier from the loading station and onto which thepackage will slide out of the holder after the package has been carriedthrough the waterproofing material, and means for preventing the packagefrom sliding out of the holder from the time it is received in theholder until it reaches the discharge station.

3. In an apparatus for waterproofing filled packages, a reservoir whichcontains the waterproofing material, a rotary spider having a, pluralityof package holders arranged in a circle concentric with the axis ofrotation of the spider, said holders being open at each end to formventrance and exit openings, the exit opening being lower than theentrance opening, an inclined seat for the package sloping down from theentrance to the exit end, means for rotating said spider in such mannerthat said package holders will be caused to sweep down into thewaterproofing material in the container and out of the same, a feedstation from which packages are fed into one end of each holder beforeit enters the waterproofing material and a discharge station on theopposite side of the spider at a point after the package has passed out;of the waterproofing material, said discharge station being so locatedthat the waterproofed package may slide down out of the holder at saiddischarge station, and means for preventing the package from sliding outof the holder after it leaves the feed station until it reaches thedischarge station.

4. In an apparatus for waterproofing filled packages, a container whichholds a waterproofing substance, a rotary spider mounted on an inclinedshaft and provided with a plurality of package holders so located thatin the rotation of the spider each of said package holders willsuccessively sweep down into and out of the waterproofing material inthe said container, and a conveyer adjacent said spider onto which thepackage is discharged from the holder at some station after the holderhas passed through the waterproofing material.

5. In an apparatus for waterproofing filled packages, a reservoir whichcontains the waterproofing substance, means for heating said reservoirto keep the said waterproofing substance at a temperature above thenormal atmospheric temperature, a rotary spider mounted on an inclinedshaft and provided with a plurality of package holders in its peripheryand so located that in the rotation of the spider each of said packageholders will be successively caused to sweep downiinto and out of thewaterproofing material in said reservoir, means for retaining a packagein said holder while the said sp der is rotating to carry the packagethrough the waterproofing material, a conveyer adjacent said spider ontowhich the package is discharged from the holder at some point after theholder has passed through the waterproofing bath, and a hot chamberthrough which the conveyer travels with the package after it is receivedcle concentric with the axis of rotation of the spider, said holdersbeing open at each end, means for rotating said spider intermittentlyand in such manner that during each complete rotation of the spider eachone of said package holders will be caused to sweep down into thewaterproofing material and out of the same, an inclined slideway locatedadjacent the station at which one of the said package holders stops ateach interval of rest in the rotation of the spider and in such positionthat the slideway will be in alinement with one of the open ends of saidholder, a conveyer located adjacent the station of rest of each one ofthe holders after it has passed through the reservoir, and a hot chamberthrough which the conveyer carries the package from the spider after ithas passed through the said reservoir.

7. In an apparatus for waterproofing filled and sealed packages, areservoir which contains the waterproofing material, means for heatingthe waterproofing material in said reservoir, a rotary spider mountedabove said reservoir on an inclined axis, said spider carrying aplurality of package holders U-shaped in cross section and extendingparallel with the axis of rotation of the spider, said holders beingopen at each end, means for rotating said spider intermittently and insuch manner that during each complete rotation of the spider each one ofsaid package holders will be caused to v sweep down into thewaterproofing material and out of the-same, an inclined slideway locatedadjacent the station at which one of the said package holders stopsat-each interval of rest in the-rotation of the spider and in suchposition that the said slideway will be in alinement with one of theopen 15 ends of said holder s, a'conveyer located adj'acent the stationof rest of the holder after it has passed through the reservoir, a hotchamber through which the conveyercarries the package from the spiderafter it'h'as passed through the said reservoir, and means 20 forguarding the exit end of the holder during the travel from the reoeivingstation to the discharging station.

In testimony whereof Laflix' my signature, I

RALPH N. DoBLE, Geo. A. RoBrNsoN.

